Scars Tell Stories
by buxton80198980
Summary: Going through complete overhaul, got back into writing so should update fairly regularly. Revised Chapter 1 up. Plot hasn't changed much, I've simply re-written it. High School Fic. Ti/Yu. Various other pairings. Drama filled. Rated for language and future stuff. Disclaimer - I own nothing but the plot of the story.
1. Chapter 1 Back to School Again

"Hurry up Tidus! You're going to be late for practice again!" shouted a young, red-headed man. Before Tidus could even turn from the inside of his locker the owner of the voice had vanished through the doorway to the pool.

"I'll be right there Wakka..." Tidus called after the fleeting voice; turning back to his locker making sure to conceal some papers before slamming the door and running to join Blitzball practice. Walking into the changing room and quickly getting changed Tidus proceeded to the dive point of the sphere pool, looking down to see his father and coach.

"Late as usual. It's about time you joined us blondey!" Jecht shouted from the water below. The water rippled slowly below him. He watched as his teammates laughed and joked around with each other, wishing he still felt the same rush when playing the game.

Stepping out of a classroom a young brunette struggled to manoeuvre her way through the swarming teenagers crowding the hallways of the enormous school. Making her way through down the hallway she located her locker and proceeded to open it and arrange her things for her next class. Her mind wandered as she slowly took the books required to move on with her day, thinking how she wished it was this easier to move on with others things in life. A loud shout disturbed her thoughts.

* * *

"Yunie!" a petite blonde girl called. Yuna glanced at the girl's attire. The blondes revealing clothes never ceased to amaze her.

"Oh hey Rikku," she answered giving her a hug. "I see you are leaving nothing to the imagination, as usual." Looking the blonde up and down, she simply smirked and continued sorting out her locker.

"Hey, when you've got a rack like this, it's worth showing it off!" Rikku explained placing her hands on her hips, pouting. Her outfit only contained a mini skirt, what could only be described as a bikini top and a scarf. "Anyway, have you seen Lulu this morning? I think we all have gym next." Grabbing her gym kit from her locker Yuna finally closed it saying,

"Yeah, I saw her just before first period; she said she would meet us there as her last class is so close to the changing rooms."

"Oh Yunie I'm so excited! I've missed school so much, This summer sucked, with you constantly with Seymour's, Lulu spending it back in Besaid and the weather here was just crap!" Rikku exclaimed, jumping in front of Yuna. Yuna rolled her eyes, thinking of how she didn't missed Rikku's hyperactive behaviour, however thinking back to her summer anything seemed better than the reality. Yuna began walking down the hall in the direction of the changing rooms, which was now being flooded by high school girls. "Oh there's Lulu, we better get going." Yuna said while looking over to the doors at a slender and pale young woman with long raven hair. Lulu looked up from her phone to greet her friends. "Hey Yuna, Rikku how you finding being back at school?"  
The blonde smiled widely and hugged Lulu,

"I love it! I've missed being around you two so much! Never leave me over summer again!" Rikku shouted squeezing Lulu tightly.

"Okay, okay, let go of me, I can't breathe." Lulu managed to get out while in Rikku's grasp. "We better get changed or we are going to be late." Lulu finished before escaping Rikku. The three girls walked through the changing room doors, while Yuna thought to herself of how she wished this would be a brand new chance to change.

* * *

Blitzball practice continued in the sphere pool. Wakka and Tidus both looked up at the clock, only fifteen minutes left. Jecht was now watching his team practice from one of the seats that lay outside of the huge sphere of water in front of him. His eyes never leaving is blonde headed son for long. Jecht had been the coach of the Zanarkand Abes and the Zanarkand High teams since he had retired five years earlier. It was the first day of the new school year and the first real practice for the team since the beginning of summer. Jecht remembered the final just before summer vacation. He remembered the incident that left Tidus with a badly injured shoulder throughout summer. Jecht could see how Tidus was struggling to keep up with the training exercises that he did with such ease before. He was worried, but would never let him know.

"Tidus! Pay attention boy!" he shouted. Tidus scowled at Jecht's yelling. He was not going to let a little injury affect his performance. Tidus rose into the air above the pool, focusing on the ball just above him. When the ball was at the right level he struck it hard with his foot, shooting it straight into the water below. Jecht watched the ball hurdle towards the goal, seeing it fly straight past it. "Come on BOY! Where's your focus?" Jecht yelled, hoping to motivate, yet it would only infuriate his son. Tidus hit the water, resurfacing he swam over to his teammates, feeling a sharp pain in his shoulder, which he chose to ignore. Tidus would not let this injury ruin his career.

"Okay practice is over, go and get changed!" Jecht shouted to the team. He knew he had a lot to do to get some of these players in shape if he was going be scouting new players for the Abes. Tidus was the last to leave the pool to be met by his father. Tidus walked up to Jecht, not knowing what to expect, he knew he could not let this happen again. "Ti, I want to talk to you about your performance today. What happened out there?"

"Well, I don't know..." Tidus started before being abruptly cut off by the dark haired man in front of him.

"I saw what happened; you completely lost your focus. Is it your shoulder? If it is you need to get some more physiotherapy on it boy. How are you going to make it into the Abes in four months if you are letting this injury get worse! You know you are not guaranteed a spot just because you are my son! You have to work hard for it!"  
Tidus shook with anger from his father's words but also from his body not being able to handle one practice.

"Get to your next class, we'll talk later at home." His father said, not knowing what to say or do at the time.

Tidus simply walked over to the changing rooms wondering how he was going to manage this.

* * *

Yuna packed up her gym kit and closed her locker. As the door shut she was startled to see Rikku standing right behind it.

"Shit! You scared me!" the young brunette gasped, clutching at her chest. Rikku simply chuckled,

"Sorry I didn't mean to. Just wanted to ask if you wanted to come shopping with me straight after school? There's this party tomorrow night which I think we should go to. We've got to celebrate becoming seniors!"

'Seymour is going to love this' Yuna thought, but she couldn't say no to the eyes Rikku was giving her; she knew exactly what to do to get her own way.

"Fine, I'll have to ask Seymour if he wants to come, I'll see you later, got to use the toilet before next class," Yuna answered, turning and walking to the restrooms.

"Alright I'll meet you for lunch after class!" Rikku shouted after her.

* * *

Tidus came running out of the changing rooms, knowing her was going to be late for his next class.

"Ti heads up!" He heard Wakka shout from behind him. As he turned the blonde saw a Blitzball flying towards his head. Running backwards in an attempt to catch it, Tidus soon found himself in a mess on the corridor floor with someone else. Wakka saw the entire clash, wincing before shouting "My bad, sorry guys!" then quickly running off. Tidus turned to his side to see a familiar brown haired girl that he had crushed.

"Shit, sorry Yuna. Sorry I didn't mean to land on you. Shit." The blonde panicked helping her to her feet. "Are you alright?" His worry grew as he noticed a deep purple bruise on the young girls shoulder. "Oh my god is your shoulder alright? That's a pretty bad bruise." She could hear the concern in his voice. Noticing how her top had revealed the horrible mark on her shoulder Yuna quickly re-adjusted her top to cover it.

"Yeah, I'm fine Tidus, don't worry it's nothing. Just try not to kill next time we meet in the corridor." Yuna said trying to sway the conversation away from what he had just seen. He couldn't help but smile at her, as she always had this affect on him. Helping her pick up her belonging off the floor, Tidus decided to carry on the conversation. "So how was your summer? I didn't see you around Zanarkand much." He asked while walking with her down the corridor.

"Summer was okay, ended up spending most of it with Seymour and working on my white magic lessons," she explained walking alongside the blitzer, who could not help but feel disappointed by what she said however he did not dwell on it. "How was your summer? I'm sure you had an exciting one with all the Blitzball parties I heard about." Yuna continued, feeling surprised by how much she was enjoying this little chat. They had known each other for years, had mutual friends but had never really spent any time alone together. Tidus couldn't help but laugh at what Yuna had said.

"My summer was good thanks. You know you shouldn't believe everything you hear about these parties. Anyway I've seen you at a few, and you can't say much, you know how to drink young lady." Yuna blushed at what Tidus said, remembering her behaviour at the last party she had been able to attend unescorted by Seymour. "Thank you reminding me of that Tidus, anyway I'm going to have to leave you now," Yuna said stopping at the door of the girl's bathroom. "I'll see you around," she finished turning to head into the bathroom.

"Yeah sure, I'll see you later Yuna," the young blonde said waving her off, noticing the bruise on the back of her shoulder again, he couldn't help but worry as she disappeared into toilets.

* * *

Yuna smiled to herself as she came out of the toilet cubicle, as that was the first time in months that she had had a decent conversation with a male member of the species; but she could not help but feel guilty about it. Looking around the bathroom to make sure she was alone, the young girl slowly lowered the strap of her top to reveal the bruise that the clumsy blitzer had noticed. As she lightly touched it she could not help but wince at the pain she felt. The young girl closed her eyes and focused a bright in her hand, before pressing it into the bruise. As the light was absorbed into her skin, Yuna sighed in relief, however she noticed the colour of the bruise did not fade much. Defeated the young mage gave up and put on her jacket to be sure that there were no other mishaps today. Staring at herself in the mirror, Yuna wondered how she had gotten herself into this mess.

* * *

The next class came and went quickly. Yuna sat in her seat in a daze as Lulu and Rikku chatted away, waiting for the bell to signal lunch. The two girls turned to Yuna wondering what could be on her mind as she was not as chatty as she usually was.

"Yunie we are going to meet by Lulu's car after school to head into the city centre, is that cool with you?" The young blonde asked. However she did not get a reply, Yuna continued to stare out of the window. "Hey! Are you listening to me? Yunie, where's your head?" The annoyed Al-Bhed shouted.

A startled Yuna snapped back to reality. "Sorry, I'm just not back into the school, concentrating state of mind, you know? Sorry what did you say?" Rikku laughed shaking her head.

"We are going to meet by Lulu's car after school to head into the city to go shopping for tomorrow. Is that cool with you?" she repeated herself. Yuna nodded, getting her phone out of her bag.

"Yeah that should be fine, I just need to ask Seymour, as he is meant to be picking me up after school," she explained while typing into her phone. Rikku rolled her eyes and looked back at Lulu to be met by the same look. "I'm sure the dictator won't be too upset he doesn't get to drop you home," the blonde said with a giggle. Lulu stayed quiet, knowing Seymour a bit better than the naive blonde. The bell finally rang, prompting the majority of the students in the class, including Rikku, to run out in a stampede of freedom. Lulu stayed staring at Yuna, waiting for her close friend to face her. Yuna sighed quietly to herself as she locked her phone, knowing the horrible reply she would surely receive from her 'lovely' boyfriend. Plastering a smile on her face, the brunette gathered her things together getting ready to leave before she noticed Lulu staring at her.

"We should get some lunch..." Yuna said to her friend, noticing Lulu's eyes hadn't left her. Exhaling, Yuna simply asked, "What?"

"You shouldn't listen to Rikku and her shit jokes, if you can even call them jokes. Are you and Seymour alright? You just seem a bit down anytime he is mentioned," Lulu asked with genuine concern in her crimson eyes. Yuna smiled, touched by her friend's concern; however, she believed she could handle her problems on her own and lied, "Everything is fine between us. He's just a bit stressed, you know, starting his final year of university and all." Lulu nodded, joining Yuna in leaving the classroom.

* * *

"Yunie, Lulu, over here! You'll never guess who is here!" screamed the blonde Al-Bhed over the hustle and bustle of the school's canteen. Yuna scanned the room after hearing the unmistakable scream of Rikku. Noticing the scandalously clad blonde over the other side of the room, Lulu and Rikku proceeded to cross the crowded room. Yuna couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't related to Rikku would she be friends with her, as she saw her cousin waving her arms wildly even though she knew they had seen her. She knew thoughts were not true, Yuna did love her cousin, just couldn't quite understand where she got all her energy from. Arriving at their destination, the two girls looked around seeing no one out of the ordinary.

"So who is here Rik? I can't see anyone I wouldn't normally." Rikku stepped aside to reveal a short, petite girl with long, lavish brown hair. "Oh my god, what are you doing here? I thought you were living in Bevelle Lenne!" Yuna screamed, hugging the girl stood in front of her.

"I've transferred to Zanarkand with Shuyin, how are you? It's been so long." Lenne managed to get out while Yuna hugged her.

"I'm good thank you; it's so good to see you. How come you're transferring here?" Yuna asked letting the petite girl go. Sitting down at a table Lenne explained,

"Well Shuyin is hoping to get a scholarship to Zanarkand University through Blitzball, but the Bevelle team is just awful. That city has never really embraced the sport, being the religious capital of Spira. But yeah, Shuyin's father accepted a new job here, and has kindly let me live with the family for the school year, so Zanarkand it is. Shuyin is at a try-out now for the school team, I hope he gets it." Yuna could not help but smile, it was the second best part of her day so far, second to her encounter with a certain blonde headed blitzer earlier, and she could not help but think back to it every now and then. The four girls spent the rest of the lunch break catching up, discussing how some school mates had changed in the transition to senior. Lenne couldn't help but look around everywhere. Her eyes could not take in the scale of the massive school she had transferred to, she felt slightly overwhelmed by all the change, but knowing she had friends where did take off some of the weight of all the change. "So, how good is the Blitz Team here?" Is it university scholarship worthy?" Lenne asked, slightly worried about Shuyin's chances. "Rikku, jumped to answer the question.

"The team is the best in Spira. Compared to the Bevelle Guardians they are in a whole other league. No offence but the Bevelle team is a disgrace to the sport!" Rikku explained, waiting for Lenne's reaction. Lenne looked a bit nervous after hearing Rikku's description of the Abes. Yuna noticed this, assuming she was worrying about how Shuyin would perform at the try-outs.

"Lenne, is Shuyin a good player? Like not just talented, like is he good working with a team? I've never actually seen him play Blitz. As the Abes are all quite close as a team, which is why I think they play and connect so well together," Yuna asked in an attempt to calm her friend's nerves. Lenne sighed before answering,

"I am slightly relieved. Shu is a very talented player, and I'm not just saying that because he is my boyfriend. In Bevelle High he pretty much had to coach the team, because like Rikku said, Bevelle blitz players suck. I'm sure he'll be fine; I just hope he can play okay with team mates that are as good, if not better than him. He should be fine, as you know he's not arrogant or anything." Yuna smiled at her friend saying,

"He should be fine, stop worrying so much." Turning she noticed the Blitzball entering the canteen, pointing them out to Lenne, who immediately ran over to Shuyin, kissing him in front of the entire team which set the rest of the team to start jeering at the couple.

"Alright guys, no need to get jealous," Shuyin shouted at the team of boys he walked in with. The tall, blonde turned back to the beautiful girl in his arms. Lenne looked back at him waiting for him to tell him the good or bad news. "So, I hope you like it here. I made the team, well for now; got to get practicing to get up to level these guys play at." Lenne squealed with excitement from hearing the news.

"Oh I'm so happy for you!" she said hugging him tightly. Wakka and Tidus walked over to the new member of their team, congratulating him. Tidus held out his hand to Shuyin,

"Hey, you did well out there, I'm going to have to watch my spot in the team with you around," Tidus joked. Tidus did believe this new addition to the team would help them greatly; however he did feel slightly worried that his position on the team would soon be taken, as his talent seemed to be degrading.

"I don't think that will be happening, I've heard about your abilities in the sphere pool, I've got a lot to learn from all of you," Shuyin replied shaking Tidus' hand.

"I think you'll get along with us all fine. There's a party tomorrow night, kind of celebrating becoming seniors, you should both come, get to bonding with the team, I'll text you the details later. I'm going to grab some food, bloody starving now." Tidus said before jogging off. The broad red-headed blitzer lightly slapped Shuyin on the back saying, "I couldn't agree with Ti more. You should come tomorrow; we'll start with drinks at mine." Wakka turned to Lenne holding out his hand, shaking her small one. "Sorry, what is your name?"

"Hi, I'm Lenne; you've probably guessed I'm Shuyin's girlfriend. You're from Besaid right?" Lenne asked.

"Originally yeah, moved here about eight years ago now, never been able to shake the accent, luckily it drives Lu wild. Will you be coming to the party tomorrow? The girls are coming over to mine at about half seven if ya want to come over with them as you know each other." Wakka explained trying to tempt the couple.

"I'm sure Lulu will appreciate you telling me that. We'll definitely be there. There is no better way to get to know each other as getting blind drunk together," Lenne replied laughing. Wakka couldn't help but laugh himself. "Shuyin, you've got a definite keeper here. I'll see you around got to go and see the missus." The red-headed blitzer said before running towards Lulu's table.

* * *

Last lesson was coming to a finish. The girls had found themselves in the same class as the majority of the Blitzball team, which Lenne was grateful for, as she was still finding her feet in this massive school. Yuna found herself doodling on her notepad thinking about the abusive text she had received as a reply from Seymour. The young girl felt worried about what kind of mood he was going to be in when they saw each other next. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she looked up to see Tidus taking a seat in front of her.

"Hey are you alright after our collision earlier?" the blonde asked slightly concerned but also hoping to initiate a conversation. He loved how comfortable he felt around her. Yuna smiled at him, touched by his worry.

"Yeah I'm fine, seriously stop worrying about me. I am fine. How's your day been? Heard you are back practicing with the team, I assume your shoulder is better now." Yuna asked, again enjoying their encounters.

"It's been good so far. Yeah back practicing, got to take it easy though, the shoulder is still pretty tender now and then, which sucks beyond belief," Tidus explained with a hint of sadness in his tone.

"I didn't think it was that bad. Have you tried any Curaga therapy on it? It can half the healing time. I'm qualified to level two if you want to try it out." Yuna said before her brain could stop her. She mentally chastised herself, thinking how she should not be offering her skills so openly. Tidus raised his eyebrows at the 'sort of' invitation, trying to figure out if it was an accidental flirt before answering.

"I've looked into it; my dad had some of it when he had an unfortunate incident with a shoopuf. He said it only really worked for a short amount of time." The young brunette knew the reason why.

"I'm guessing he only had the one session." Tidus nodded. "It is only temporary when used in such small doses, but for example and injury like yours could be healed in a matter of weeks with regular sessions, instead of the months it could take with machina technology. The problem is that it is seen as such an old fashioned technique that not many people want to give it the chance." Yuna fully explained. Looking at the blonde sat in front of her, she saw genuine intrigue in his azure eyes. Studying his face she could tell that the injury must have been much worse than he was leading on, so much so she concluded that it must be affecting is game. "If you want to know anything else about it, just ask okay. If you want to try it I can get you the contact details for the centre I am training with." Yuna continued, writing down the details for the centre for him.

"Thanks Yuna, this could be a real help, so..." Tidus said taking the paper before being cut off by the bell signalling class and the first day back at school was over. Yuna stood up getting ready to, "No problem, let me know how it goes if you go through with it. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, got to go shopping for this party tomorrow." Tidus stood to leave as well before saying, "I will do thanks again. Good to hear you are coming to the party. I'll see you tomorrow." Yuna couldn't help but wonder why the blitzer was so interested in her all of a sudden.


	2. Deep Thoughts and Emotional Wounds

Zanarkand city centre never slept. The huge shopping district never disappointed its customers, the complex full of varied shops and restaurants dazzled in the fading autumn sun. The pavements were filled with people, shopping, taking photographs, generally socialising. Zanarkand was a famous tourist attraction in Spira. Being the sight of an infamous war oddly did wonders for the city's economic growth. Walking into the grand entrance of the main shopping centre the three young girls were ready to spend a lot of their parent's money. The trio darted from shop to shop never agreeing on each other's new outfits, but as they all had their separate styles they all finally agreed to let the other choose what they wanted. Strolling around the restaurant district, each of the girls complained about being tired and hungry. Walking past a small pizzeria they decided to stop for food and rest their tired feet. Being shown to a booth each of them sat down, with only Rikku over exaggerating her exhaustion.

"Yevon I'm tired. I could eat an entire large pizza now," The blonde huffed loudly while scanning the menu lazily. Kicking her shopping bags under the table, Yuna took out her phone to check if anyone had called or text her. Lulu sat examining her new purchases, feeling slightly guilty about spending so much, but knowing she deserved it after her grades last year, straight A's.

"So, what are you getting? I'm going for a massive pizza covered in chocobo and behemoth meat," Rikku asked rubbing her stomach eagerly anticipating the meal. Yuna scanned the menu quickly, choosing a random pasta dish, Lulu did the same, neither of them understood how Rikku always had such a big appetite yet never put on any weight. "Rikku do you mind ordering for us, I'm dying for a cigarette? Yuna, do you want one?" Lulu asked getting her pack of Ether brand cigarettes out of her bag. Yuna nodded.

"Fine leave me in here alone you dirty smokers!" Rikku shouted after them, just as the waiter turned up.

The two girls stepped outside into the busy street and lit their cigarettes. Watching the hordes of people walk by both girls smoked silently, Lulu wanted to ask her friend so many questions, but could not figure out where to start. They had been best friends before both their families moved to Zanarkand; however Lulu had seen a dramatic change in Yuna's personality the past six months, she now seemed very defensive and lacked the confidence she had once possessed. Lulu wanted so dearly to find out what was the cause of this change, with the idea that the presence of Seymour in her friend's life only coming to mind. Lulu knew she could not go in all guns blazing, as every time in the past few weeks it had never worked and seemed to strain their friendship. The raven haired girl simply decided to make small talk about the school day just past to try and build up trust.

"So, how was your first day back Yuna?" she started simply. The brunette blew the smoke from her cigarette into the air before answering.

"Yeah it was good, nice to be back in a routine actually. How did you find it?" Yuna asked turning to her friend. "Same really, summer was good and all but even in the sun in Besaid I failed to get a tan, as bloody usual. I guess I am destined to be pale," Lulu said laughing. "I miss you over summer. We missed your eighteenth birthday; we'll have to plan something to make up for it. Did you do anything nice for it?" Lulu continued feeling annoyed that Seymour had kept her friend in Bevelle for her birthday. Yuna stared at the flocks of people in the square, remembering her birthday last week. Remembering how it may as not well have been her birthday, having being promised a full day of loving things from her boyfriend to having everything shattered.

"Yeah it was really good. Saw my father, had lunch and a day out with him, then a lovely dinner with Seymour in the night," Yuna explained, not lying completely. She had gone out with her father, however the evening she was promised by her so called loving boyfriend turned into something much more horrific.

"That sounds nice, but we still have to do something with all of us to celebrate, and since you are now eighteen you can buy all our booze for whatever we do," Lulu said smiling at her friend. Yuna laughed stubbing out her cigarette and throwing it in the ash tray.

"Thank you, is that what I am going to be used for now, buying all the booze for you young ones? I know I'm going to have to buy everyone's for tomorrow night Rikku has already informed me about that one," Yuna joked. "Hey do you mind if we have another cigarette quickly? Being dragged around all those shops for so long without a cigarette break has made my cravings for tobacco go crazy."

"Yeah sure, but don't you have your own?" Lulu asked passing Yuna another cigarette.

"Yes I do, but since I'm everyone's alcohol donkey for tomorrow I think I should get some cigarettes in return," Yuna half joked before lighting up her second.

"Okay fair enough. So will Seymour will be gracing us with his presence tomorrow night?" Lulu asked lighting up her second.

"Not sure yet, I haven't told him about it, not sure if I want to." Yuna said without thinking, "So how's Wakka liking being a senior?" she asked, quickly changing the subject. Lulu did want to question the answer; however she stuck to her plan of easing Yuna into the topic of Seymour.

"He's loving it, no surprise there as he's is back to Blitzball practice after the summer off. He spent a lot of time helping Tidus to get back into shape after that incident at the final in Luca. I noticed you speaking to Tidus quite a bit last lesson, what were you guys talking about?" Lulu asked, intrigued by what she saw earlier. Yuna finished her second cigarette before answering.

"Not a lot really, just talked about our summers and how he was doing with his shoulder, nothing seedy i assure you." Yuna knew what her friend was thinking. Lulu finished up and opened the door to head inside saying,

"I wasn't implying anything, I was just curious."

Walking over to the booth, they noticed Rikku was flirting with one of the waiters. "It's a wonder if she's actually ordered the food yet."

Tidus sat in the lavish living room of his home, playing with the card Yuna had given him. Phone in one hand, he could not decide whether he wanted to go through with the treatment. He could not stop thinking what his team would think of him; weak, talentless. Blitzball was his life, he believed there was nothing else that he could do as well as he played in the sphere pool. Hearing his father coming into the room the young blonde panicked hiding the card, pretending to play with his phone. Jecht noticed his son's odd behaviour, sitting in the chair opposite him, waiting for him to look at him. Tidus could feel his father's eyes staring at him.

"What are you staring at?" Tidus asked not taking his eyes off his phone.

"Nothing son, just wondering why you have been acting so strangely since you got home from school," Jecht answered, continuing to stare at the blonde. Tidus exhaled loudly, not knowing whether to tell his father about this treatment he wanted to try, thinking that he would look down on him after telling his father that his shoulder was better again. Jecht shook his head, "Just tell me what's bothering you son, I can't help if you won't tell me!" Jecht said a bit more forcefully than he intended. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to shout at you. Just please tell me. I'm starting to worry about you. Since the incident in Luca I've noticed you just go into your shell around here." Tidus looked up at his father surprised. This was the first time that he believed his father actually cared about him as his son, not just a player in his team. Tidus noticed Jecht's face actually did look genuinely worried. The younger man had to give it to his father, he had been strong for so long. Tidus thought back to a year ago. Watching his mother leave with another man, leaving his father devastated. As a father and son they were never close personally, they were always coach and player. However, in the last year Tidus had seen his father struggle emotionally, but had no idea how to approach it. Tidus always thought about how he was shocked about his mother's betrayal at first; however he knew she had never truly cared for him, making it fairly clear she had never wanted him. The blonde teenager however knew how much his mother meant to Jecht and seeing his father actually break down because of her departure had let him see that his father wasn't emotionless or neglecting Tidus, but trying to juggle between a horrible woman and the son he had always wanted. Looking back at Jecht, Tidus thought maybe he should give him a chance to be the father he wanted to be, but usually failed due to pride and ignorance.

"It is about my shoulder. It's not a healed as I've been leading on," Tidus admitted, waiting for a reply. Again shaking him head Jecht stood, walking over to sit next to his son.

"Why didn't you tell me? With all the training we've been doing it is never going to get better." Jecht said slightly disappointed his son would keep this from him.

"I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to lose out in Blitzball this season. I have to play!" Tidus answered realising how stupid he had been. "I know I should have let it heal up but the doctors said it could take up to two years. By that time I would have lost my chances of joining the Abes and any chance of a scholarship to Zanarkand University." The young man went on, not being able to stop himself now the flood gates were open; he had not shared this with anyone before and was even more surprised he was admitting this all to his father.

Jecht was shocked to hear all this in one go. He could finally see the stress he had put his son under when it came to the sport they both loved. Noticing the card Tidus had carelessly tried to hide; Jecht picked it up examining it.

"Hey is this for that Curaga therapy, like what I had when that shoopuf attacked me?" he asked his son.

Tidus cursed under his breath for not hiding it better, knowing his dad would only call it 'hippie crap'. "You should give it a go son. Need to try everything out there if this injury is still that bad." Tidus looked up confused. Did he just hear his father right?

"I thought you said it didn't work?" he asked intrigued by Jecht's change of view.

"I only had the two sessions, you are supposed to have two to three sessions a week for about three months or so, depending on how severe the injury is. That's if I remember right. I only had the two sessions because your mother hated having some woman touch me, but we know how much of a bitch your mother is," Jecht joked not remembering that it was his son he was saying it to. "Sorry I don't mean to be so petty," he apologised.

Tidus actually laughed at what his father had said. Jecht continued, "So how about we book some sessions for you boy; are you willing to try it?" Tidus didn't even think before answering, "Yes, I have to try it at least."

Jecht clapped his hands together and while standing to leave simply said, "Sounds good, give them a call this week then and we'll get you in there as soon as possible. Now I have to go and see your Uncle Auron about some supplies, I shouldn't be back too late." Tidus smiled, thinking how that was the first time he ever felt close to his father. He also thought of a cunning plan while dialling the number for the therapy centre into his phone.

The two girls returned to their table, rolling their eyes as they sat down to watch Rikku's shameless flirting with the spiky haired waited. They had to give it to her, she oozed confidence. The restaurant was fairly quiet for the time of day. Having enough of waiting to be served, Lulu butted into disgusting conversation between the two blondes.

"Well if you are quite done trying to get into my friend's pants, I would love to get some food over here," Lulu said bluntly staring at the dumbfounded waiter. Rather flustered by the remark from the beautiful raven haired girl.

"Sorry, what can I get for you all?" The young waiter asked. He could not have been much older than the girls.

After Lulu ordered for them all she was met by a cold stare from the blonde. Rolling her eyes, Lulu looked over to her friend. "What Rikku? We would have been here all night with the rate you were going. I'm surprised you didn't just let him take you on the table in front of the entire restaurant." Lulu said smiling, knowing she would not get much of a response. Rikku again just stared at her friend in response to the comment, dropping her jaw. "Oh, don't look like that. We all know you are going to slip him your number when we leave, and by the looks you are still getting from him, I haven't ruined your chances." Lulu continued brushing the stare from Rikku off. Yuna witnessing everything that just happened burst into hysterics.

"I'm pretty sure I sealed the deal before you two had gotten back from your dirty habit," Rikku stated while writing her number on a napkin with the intention of slipping it to the 'lucky' waiter later. The trio continued to chat while waiting for their food to arrive. Their conversation was cut short by Yuna's phone ringing. Noticing it was from the therapy centre she excused herself and headed outside before answering it.

"Hello," she answered wondering what they could want.

Lulu and Rikku resumed their conversation as Yuna left. Seeing that she was outside on the phone Rikku jumped at the chance to talk to Lulu about Yuna.

"Have you noticed Yuna has been a bit different lately? Like she never wants to come out with us anymore, always going to see Seymour and stuff," she asked. Lulu nodded agreeing with her.

"I don't want to say it but she's well boring now, it's like she thinks Seymour will look down on her for still being a teenager or something. I mean we didn't even get to celebrate her eighteenth with her!" Rikku said getting rather annoyed with her cousin's behaviour. Lulu couldn't help but laugh at the boring comment, however she could not have said it better herself.

"I've noticed it too, I've tried asking her about it but I haven't gotten anywhere with her," Lulu explained. Rikku exhaled loudly expressed her dislike of the situation.

As their food arrived, Yuna returned to their booth smiling. Her two friends looked up to see this very intrigued to find out what the phone call was about.

"What's put a smile on your face?" Lulu asked, while slowly twirling her spaghetti, ready to take her first bite.

"Well that was work. They said I've been personally requested to do intensive healing sessions for three months for a new client apparently. They said I would be getting paid a hell of a lot if I choose to do it." Yuna explained, slightly confused but very happy she had been chosen.

"Yunie that's great news!" Rikku shouted hugging her cousin. Rikku was happy for Yuna, but she did realised that this would mean even less time that they could spend together, well over the next three months anyway.

"Did they say who it was for? I bet it's some rich businessman from Luca." Rikku said still squeezing her cousin. Releasing herself from Rikku's death grip Yuna answered,

"No they didn't say. Apparently it's a client who would like everything to be kept confidential, so even when I do find out I can't tell you anyway, especially you," she explained looking straight at Rikku.

"Fine," Rikku huffed. "Must be someone pretty important then," the energetic blonde said trying to think of anyone it could be. Yuna smiled to herself, finally something good happening in her life she thought.

Time flew by; the girls had been in the slowly emptying restaurant for over two hours. The three girls continued to chat about anything and everything, wondering who this mystery client could be that had requested Yuna. Yuna let her mind wonder to a certain blonde she had been speaking to today, still speculating to why he was suddenly very interested in her. She thought back to any attention she had received from him before. It had always been a fleeting conversation here and there. As she thought back harder, Yuna could always remember a slight compliment slipped into each conversation. He had always seemed flirty with every girl he came in contact with, even his close friend's girlfriends; however never openly with her. The young girl could not make any sense of these thoughts or information. As the thoughts left her she heard a cold sadistic voice say her name.

"Yuna," The voice simply said.

She turned to meet the source of it. Seeing the long blue hair of it she knew exactly who it was.

"Hi, Seymour," she said with no emotion, not even making eye contact. Seymour was tall, with a large build figure, easily shadowing Yuna's. Lulu noticed the emotionless language between the two of them, more so than ever before.

"Yuna, could I speak to you outside?" Seymour said holding out his hand, attempting to show a bit of affection towards his girlfriend. Yuna nodded and rose from her seat collecting up her belongings, before being led to the exit. The remaining girls looked slightly confused but chose not to object knowing they would not win against Seymour persuasion.

Yuna blindly followed behind the towering figure of Seymour, being led around the corner of the restaurant into the shadowed alley behind. Deciding that they were a sufficient distance away from any crowds in the city centre, Seymour turned to his following girlfriend. Stepping towards her, she had no choice but to back intothe cold brick wall behind her.

"Why didn't you ring me? You have been here for hours," a harsh, sinister voice asked.

"I thought you were still in college, I was going to in a bit," Yuna said quietly, while trying feebly trying to stand her ground.

Seymour took a step towards Yuna as she took another back only to be met by the cold brick to her back again. He grabbed her one wrist and held it by her side while leaning into her face. Her look of pure hatred grew into pain as he started to squeeze her trapped wrist. She knew if she screamed she would just get much worse torture from him.

"Now listen to me," he growled as he dug his sharp Guado nails into her wrist. "If you choose to go out whoring yourself out with your friends before consulting me, I will put you through more pain than you have ever felt before, understand?" He finished with his voice dripping with cruelty. Yuna simply nodded not turning from his gaze. Seymour released his grip on her and stepped back. Yuna, not wanting to show weakness, ignored the pain pulsing in her wrist. She could tell just by the feeling that he had left a 'loving' mark behind once again. Yuna wondered why she was still with this disgrace of a man; but often thought 'If he treats me like this when we are together, what the hell would he do to me if I broke up with him?'

Back in the restaurant the two girls were met by Wakka and Tidus. The two blitzers slid into the booth next to the girls, engaging in idle chatter before being interrupted by Lulu's phone ringing.

"Ach, who the hell could that be?" the pale slender girl muttered to herself. Her phone flashed the word 'message'. Opening it, it read; 'Hey, I don't feel that well, think it may have been the food, I'm going to go home with Seymour. Yuna xxx.' Lulu thought to herself that something must have been wrong as her friend had been absolutely fine no more than ten minutes ago. She didn't have to guess that Seymour had had something to do with this sudden disappearance. Frowning at the thought she turned her attention back to the group of friend at the table around her.

Unbeknownst to her friends inside, Yuna was only around the dark, dingy side of the café. The damp air seemed to accommodate the uncomfortable tension between the two figures shrouded by shadows. Slapping the illuminated phone shut, Seymour held it out towards the detached brunette standing a mere metre away from him, before stating, "That should deal with that interfering mage 'friend' of yours." His slender fingers let the phone wave a little in front of Yuna's face, catching her attention. Removing her gaze from the floor besides Seymour's feet, Yuna slowly grasped the phone out of his hand, simply saying in her head, 'Don't argue or you will regret it. It's easier to just agree and go along with it.' Her irate look met his. Taking a stride towards, the young brunette, Yuna backed away again only to meet the rough, cold brick. 'Fuck. I'm a bloody idiot,' she thought. Seymour's face was now barely an inch from her pale one. Her skin crawling with disgust as his slender fingers traced up her arms and side slowly. Her stomach immediately dropped as he went in to forcefully kiss her. She felt physically sick. Seymour's vigorous actions placed upon the girl in front of him gave him the upper hand in taking full advantage. Seizing her reluctant hands in his he pushed them above her head, pressing them firmly into the walls, making sure his 'girlfriend' could not escape easily. Yuna's eyes remained open. She felt disgusted with herself, for letting him do this to her. Seymour pulled away slightly, smirking at his captured prey. "You don't seem to be enjoying yourself. Maybe I should help you," Seymour went in for another kiss, but Yuna sub-consciously moved her face away, 'Fuck, why the hell did I do that? Now what's he going to do?' Ignoring the reaction her got he simply moved his attention to neck smooth, pale neck. Biting and sucking at it, only inflicting pain, not desire. Feeling Yuna flinch against him, Seymour let one hand trail down her body, stroking every curve and crevasse he could reach. Yuna dared not to squirm underneath him, simply knocked her head continuous on the wall behind trying to distract herself from what was happening to her.

Seymour continued to let his invading hands crawl over Yuna's body. His face came up from neck, positioning his lips a mere inch away from her ear,

"You're learning not to displease me. As we know what happens when you do," the demon whispered, trailing his hand up to her neck, tracing lines along her shoulder before digging, scrapping his long nail across it drawing blood. Yuna could only let out faint whimpers to the sharp pain she felt, knowing that he loved to see her in pain. Yuna felt herself build up with anger; trying to divert it anyway she could as not to be put through anymore of this torture. The sound of his phone broke the sinister atmosphere, much to Yuna's relief. Snapping open his phone, he smiled before saying,

"Seems like we will have to cut this short, I have business to take care of," He approached her one last time, kissing her one last time, "Don't worry I'll be sure to see you soon," He said before leaving her in the deserted alleyway. Waiting a few minutes, hearing his car pull away, Yuna guided her fingers to where his nail had been dragged. She felt the warm drops of blood before pulling her top up to conceal it. Straightening herself up, the brunette made her way quickly to her car, hoping that she would beat Lulu and Rikku home, thinking on the way of how to explain this new 'affectionate gift' off Seymour.


	3. Theories and Questions

Arriving at the apartment complex in the D-West district of Zanarkand, Lulu and Rikku made their way through the modern reception to the stairway. Both young girls had been curious about their friend's swift departure from the restaurant. Climbing the stairway, the girls chatted quietly, in an effort not to disturb the neighbours. Arriving at the third floor, the young Al-Bhed stopped at a door while rummaging through her bag. Lulu proceeded to shake her head, watching her friend struggle to find the keys that always seemed to evade the blonde's grasp.

"Do not tell me you have lost another set of keys." The young mage demanded, knowing of Rikku's habit of losing such things. Rifling through her last bag, Rikku heard a 'jangle' that she had been searching for.

"Got them!" Rikku shouted out, waving the bundle of keys in Lulu's unimpressed face. Continuing to open the door, the two girls wandered in, settling their shopping bags down on the floor of the spacious living room. The raven haired girl collapsed into the cushioned sofa, glancing around the open-planned apartment, noticing the living room and kitchen was oddly empty. Turning to face Rikku, the young mage asked,

"Where is your father Rikku? He and Brother are usually here at this time."

"Oh, I forgot to say. Brother and Pops had to go to Bikanel early this year. With the weather we have been having lately the digs have started earlier than usual." Rikku explained putting the few food items she had bought away in the kitchen. "I think Pops said he would be back for a weekend in about two weeks, but then he is away for two months, with that being the best time to dig in the desert. Do you want something to drink?" She continued to ask, while grabbing herself a can. Lulu shook her head, before standing up and heading to the adjacent corridor.

"I'm just going to see if Yuna is about."

Hearing the light patting of familiar footsteps, Yuna pulled herself up from the floor knowing someone was coming to check on her. Taking a hold of a mauve, patterned blanket from the end of her unmade bed, she wrapped it around her shoulders, clutching it at the nape of her pale neck. She heard a light rapping on her bedroom door. Debating on whether to answer or remain silent with the hope that whoever wanted to disturb her would continue on their way. The sound of her friend's voice call her name swayed her decision. Reaching for the door handle she weakly smiled at her raven haired friend, awaiting the obvious questions. Lulu could not help but look slightly surprised by Yuna's appearance. She had looked so content and relaxed around them earlier, however now looking at her friend she could see melancholy and anxiety. Knowing the reason for this change being down to a certain someone; however Lulu also knew from the past that her friend would never talk about it easily.

"Hey, I just wanted to see if you were okay. You just seemed to rush off earlier." Lulu explained with obvious concern in her voice. Yuna couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed by her friend's questions, but she could understand her concern, she knew Lulu was not a stupid girl.

"I'm fine, just feel a little dodgy, think it might just be a bit of indigestion," she lied, feeling awful for lying, but she did not want to burden her friends with her problems. "If you don't mind I think I'm just going to watch a film in bed. I need to feel better for tomorrow with school and work." Lulu sighed; she wasn't going to push Yuna any further.

"If you are sure; I'll see you tomorrow, I'll tell Rikku not to bother you," Lulu finished, walking away still worried. Yuna slowly closed the door feeling awful that she was lying to her friend, but how could they help really? She thought. Walking to the full length mirror in her room, Yuna dropped the blanket and stripped down to her underwear. Gazing into the mirror she could see the full extent of the beating her so called boyfriend had recently given her. Trailing her gaze from her legs, seeing bruises of black and blue mark her pale skin; she continued to look up her body seeing more cuts and bruises scarring her once perfect skin. Giving up healing her wounds, she looked away from the mirror with only anger in her eyes. 'Why am I letting this happen to me?' She thought as she broke down. As a few moments passed the young girl looked up with a new look of determination in her eyes; she felt a surge of confidence that she had not felt in a long, long time. Things were going to change.

The district of B-North of Zanarkand was a sophisticated area to say the least. The wide roads lined with perfect gardens, with their neat picket fences that belong to lavish houses. Lulu drove slowly up to a gate, opening her window and lazily showing a key fob to a sensor. As she watched the gates slowly open, she placed her hands back onto the steering wheel and slowly made her way to her usual parking spot. As Lulu walked to her front door, she noticed Wakka's car parked in his usual space. Smiling to herself, she thought of how she needed to spend some time with her boyfriend. Unlocking the door, she placed a delicate hand onto the detailed cast iron door handle, giving the heavy wooden door a push before it easily opened. Placing her things down in the huge foyer, Lulu stretched and let out a loud yawn.

"Oh come on, shopping can't be that tiring ya?" She heard a familiar voice approach her from behind. Turning to face the source of the voice she smiled as her eyes came across the wild orange wave of hair of her boyfriend. Smiling softly she walked towards the towering mass of muscles and looped her arms around him pressing her entire body into his. Placing his broad naked arms around the petite girl around him Wakka lightly squeezed his girlfriend. "What's this for? What's wrong?" he asked slightly concerned. Lulu wasn't one to initiate much intimacy between them. Sighing as she released him from the hug Lulu explained her day.

"It's just been a long day, and I'm getting more and more worried about Yuna. She is acting very different lately and I can't put my figure on the exact reason for it." Wakka frowned at her explanation, thinking how she was probably getting herself worried over nothing.

"Hey, come on. Your mum has just made dinner, but we'll talk about all this after if you want ya?" Wakka comforted her.

"Dinner is ready! Come on through to the dining room!" Both teenagers turned to walk towards the dining room, hand in hand.

The street light were lighting up one by one in D-West Zanarkand; slowly illuminating the darkening skies above. Yuna noticed this, deciding it was time to return to the apartment. Debating everything she had thought about on her walk in her head, she was still undecided on what to do about her current situation. There was one thing she knew for certain, she could not do this alone.

Arriving at her apartment, she heard the light patting of rain starting outside.

"Looks like a got lucky," Yuna mindlessly said to herself, rummaging in her pockets for her keys. Gaining access to her apartment, the young brunette threw her keys lazily into the bowl close to the door. Hearing the keys come in contact with the bowl she heard a lot of rustling and movement coming from the living room. With slight hesitation Yuna slowly moved around the corner to inspect the source of the noise. Her bi-coloured eyes widened to what she saw. The mingling limbs of two bodies, two tufts of messy blonde hair and two surprised faces met Yuna's eyes. After the initial shock Yuna averted her eyes, not expecting to see the half naked bodies of her cousin and the waiter that had been serving them a few hours before. "Seriously Rikku, at least go in your own room and don't soil our furniture!" Yuna called walking past them towards the kitchen, leaving them to get themselves in decent condition before she returned. Clambering around the room putting their clothing back where it belonged, Rikku and her new 'friend' stumbled to their feet. Rikku scolded herself for not going to her room when her visitor called, knowing that she would not live this one down for a while. Yuna returned to the living room with her hand covering her eyes. "It is safe now? Or are you still fornicating on our sofa? I hope there are no stains Rikku!" Yuna said, barely able to keep in a chuckle. However lewd the situation, it did manage to distract her from the previous thoughts.

"Ha, ha, Yunie. We were doing anything like that!" Rikku explained fixing her hair, knowing this was only the beginning of the abuse to come. "So, this is Gippal, you met briefly at the restaurant earlier," she continued introducing her 'friend'. Yuna smiled devilishly, tormenting her cousin about her indiscretions being a hobby of hers.

"Ah, yes I remember. If I remember right, you only met briefly at the restaurant as well. You both seem to be getting on swimmingly in this short amount of time," Yuna continued her tormenting. "Well it was lovely to meet you Gippal, hopefully we'll see move of you that my cousin's many other suitors," she finished leaving for her bedroom, knowing she was going to get an earful of Rikku when Gippal left; well if Gippal left.

The two blonde simply stood dumbfounded by what Yuna had said. Scratching the back of his head, Gippal turned to the girl he barely knew.

"So, you invite a lot of guys back here?" he asked. Rikku turned to face him, quick to defend herself from the onslaught of abuse her cousin had just hurled at her.

"No, don't listen to her! She is just winding both of us up! I swear! If she comes out again she will explain that she does this all the time!" Rikku exclaimed loud and fast. Gippal laughed out loud at the rush of defence that came spewing out of her mouth.

"Okay, I'll believe you for now. I guess I'll just have to see next time, that is if there is a next time beautiful," Gippal said with a cocky grin glue to his face. Rikku pursed her lips thinking about the future of this guy before saying,

"Well we'll have to see Romeo, but I think I've had enough excitement for one evening. Give me a ring some time, as I'm going to have to kick you out now, I've got a few things I need to do." The perky blonde finished, ushering her guest to the door. Gippal took the hint and walked through the door.

"I'll make sure I do. I'll be seeing you soon beautiful!" he called before Rikku closed the door. Turning around Rikku stormed to her cousin's bedroom; she was fuming.

"That was fantastic Shelinda, I can never get enough of your cooking," Wakka exclaimed patting his stomach. Lulu's mother laughed at Wakka's enthusiasm.

"Wakka I only wish everyone loved my cooking as much as you. I can't seem to convince my husband and daughter of my amazing cooking skills." Lulu shook her head at their antics, loving how well her parents got along with her boyfriend. She could remember Wakka's nervousness when the first meeting took place; she had never seen him ramble on about nonsense before. She could not believe her eyes, seeing her usually very confident blitz ball boyfriend regress into a panicky mess. Yet now, she could not get over how well they got along now; it made her believe even more that Wakka was the one for her. Noticing her daughter's far off expression Shelinda clicked her long fingers in her daughter's face in an attempt to sway Lulu's attention to the present. "Are you away with the fairies again young one? Have you been on the wacky stuff darling? Your expression reminds me of your dad and I at the Moonflow festivals back in the day," she continued reminiscing. Wakka could not hold in a laugh; Lulu's mother's stories never ceased to amuse him. The differences between Lulu and her parents stunned Wakka when he first met them; he could not understand where Lulu got her sensible nature from, hearing all the stories Shelinda told about their hippy-esque lifestyle in the past.

"Mother please stop embarrassing yourself," Lulu pleaded shaking her at her mother's stories.

"Sorry love, you know how I love to reminisce. Anyway how was your first day back at school?" Shelinda asked changing the conversation for her daughter. Lulu thought about the events she had experienced on the first day back at school, deciding there was nothing worth mentioning to her mother she went on to say in a bleak tone,

"The same as usual mother, nothing interesting to report." Shelinda shook her head, letting her hair shake around her pale face.

"Always the talkative one, just like her father," she stated towards Wakka. Rolling her crimson eyes at her mother's remark the raven haired girl stood announcing,

"Well I am sorry I have nothing entertaining to say. Anyway I have some work to get started on." Turning towards her boyfriend she continued, "And so do you. I am not letting your grades slip just because Blitzball practice has started again." Hinting towards Wakka. "Barkeep, if you wouldn't mind helping clear the table," She motioned towards the lingering Hypello.

"Shertenly madam." Came the reply as the teenagers left the dining room.

Upon entering Lulu's bedroom, Wakka decided to confront his girlfriend's behaviour at the dinner table. Closing the door quietly for privacy he approached the silent girl, lovingly wrapping his tanned arms around her shoulders.

"What is wrong Lu? You were really short at the table with your mam, and have been acting pretty weird since you got home." He calmly asked her, his Besaidian accent very strong as the words drifted from his mouth. Leaning into his warm embrace, she pondered whether to bother him with the worries she had about her close friend. Knowing he would care to some extent, but also she wondered how he would react if she mentioned her unproven theory of Seymour being the reason for the recent change in Yuna the past few months; especially today. Not knowing whether he would believe it or whether he would overreact without actual proof of anything. She continued to ponder, enjoying the embrace he continued to hold her in.

Watching the sun's glorious light vanish over the horizon; engulfing the city in a fiery glow before dipping below the far reaching land Tidus awaited a phone call. It had been some time since he appreciated the sight of the city he had lived in his entire life. it was an attempt to distract himself from the thoughts of losing his dreams because of an injury. Deciding to occupy his mind with something other than worry, the young blonde made his way to the bathroom. A hot shower would help relax him, he thought. Stripping off, he stepped into the shower, letting the water cascade down his body. He felt his muscles loosen up as the tension left his body. The moment was soon disturbed by a loud rapping at the door. He rolled his deep blue eyes at the disturbance as he wrapped a soft towel around his waist to investigate the interruption.

"What is it?" He called before opening the door. Hearing his father's booming voice answer,

"You've got a phone call; they need to speak to you now." Tidus' reaction to the disturbance changed radically, rushing to open the door. Phone in hand he immediately confirmed his identity to the caller. Jecht lingered in the room out of curiosity, smiling when he saw his recently unhappy son's face light up with joy he had not seen for some time. Enthusiastically ending the call Tidus could not wipe the smile off his face.

"Good news I'm guessing my boy," Jecht said placing an arm around Tidus' shoulders.

"That was the therapy centre. Everything has been sorted, just a few forms to sign when the therapist comes here to start the day after tomorrow," Tidus explained still smiling.

"Good to hear son, I'll let you get dressed and we will sort out the finances for it later tonight," Jecht said leaving his son alone. Tidus closed his phone, deciding not to reveal to his father that he had requested someone he knows from school, knowing that he would have to endure his father's childish banter otherwise.

Wakka could not believe what he was hearing. The accusations Lulu was making were not ones to be taken lightly. He stood and paced around the room in an attempt to process this theory of Lulu's. Thinking that they cannot be right, but thoughts of what could be going on if she was right. Lulu instantly regretted opening he mouth after seeing Wakka's reaction. She was unable to tell whether his current behaviour was from him believing her or being disgusted with her for making the accusations in the first place.

"Lu, you can't just say stuff like this with no proof, this could really damage your friendship and their relationship if you just bring this up," he managed to get out still trying to think straight.

"I know that, that is why I am telling you first. I want to know what you think about the whole situation, as you know Yuna pretty well now too. Just please calm down, it is not like I am going to confront anyone tomorrow with this theory," she explained trying to get her worrying boyfriend to sit back down. "Please do not mention any of this too anyone," Lulu begged hoping Wakka would know this already.

Stopping in his track he approached his worrying girlfriend, kneeling in front of her saying,

"Of course I won't, I'm gonna help ya find out what is going on. Sorry for panicking there, it is just not something I expected to hear to be honest." Wakka returned to the bed next to his worrying girlfriend. "What makes you think that Seymour is the problem with Yuna, and what makes you think he might be beating on her?" Wakka tried to ask calmly. Lulu thought back on the last few months, thinking of all the changes she had seen in her close friend.

"You must have noticed a change in her lately. You and her used to be quite playful friends, you two would actually have a laugh together, but now she seems to avoid prolonged contact with you, and any other male friend for that matter." Lulu firstly explained. Wakka thought back to the times Lulu was talking about and did notice a slight connection to Yuna becoming involved with Seymour; however he had just dismissed it as Yuna feeling that having close male friends may make Seymour feel uncomfortable. The situation was too complicated for him to process alone. "See? You have noticed a change." Lulu replied to Wakka's silence.

"Okay, ya I have, but you still have no proof he is beating on her, until we can get some proof I don't want either of us to get involved in anything, ya?" Wakka proposed. Lulu had to agree.

"I suppose, we cannot accuse someone of Seymour's status without horrible backlash. We will have to build up a case or something. I will try and get information out of Yuna; however that is like getting blood from a stone these days. You try and rebuild your friendship with her, as it will then be easier to see changes in her."

The two continued to plan, wanting their friend back.

The following morning Yuna was sharply woken by her phone vibrating loudly. Her mind frazzled from her shattered sleep, she struggled to locate her phone. Finally grasping it, she lazily put it to her ear while still led in bed.

"Hello?" She answered not hiding that she had just woken up. Hearing a familiar voice from her workplace she soon sorted herself.

"Hello Yuna, I'm sorry I'm ringing you so early," apologised the caller.

"That's fine Calli, I was just about to get up anyway," Yuna lied slightly annoyed by the unexpected wake up call. "What can I do for you?" She asked curious about the call.

"Well it is to arrange your new client actually, as they would like you to start tomorrow." Calli explained. "As it is such an early start I need to give you the file on the client's background and I need you to sign a confidentiality form as the client's father is a high profile man and they would like to keep the treatment under wraps." Calli continued. Yuna agreed knowing the procedure. "If you could pop in to sign the form and pick up the file before you go to school I can finalise everything today for you to start."

Holding back a yawn Yuna said,

"That is fine; I will be there at eight. See you soon." Putting her phone to one side, the young girl stretched in an attempt to wake herself. Forcing herself out of her cushioned bed, the light of morning pierced through the window, partially lighting the room. She gazed around the room hazily, knowing she had to do something to wake herself up, as her bed looked so inviting. Flinching as she grabbed her towel she felt the anger fill her up once again as she remembered her run in with her 'loving' Seymour. Not allowing herself to become upset over it she rushed to the shower knowing she had a very busy day and night ahead of her.

The running water of the shower beating down on the wall was enough to wake a slumbering Al-Bhed in the adjacent room. Confused about hearing this noise so early she turned her clock around to see the time.

'06:02'. Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Rikku thought of how she had never known her cousin to be up this early. Deciding to investigate she made her way to the kitchen to prepare some coffee, knowing Yuna did not take long to get ready.

Dressing herself, Yuna tried ever so hard to push the memories of Seymour's behaviour towards her. She could not let this take over her life, especially today. She focussed her mind on the plans for the party tonight. She realised that she had no clue about what was going on in regards to meeting everyone. Collecting the last of her belongings she made her way through to the kitchen, deciding she should have something to eat before setting off.

Rikku heard a bedroom door close, pouring a cup of coffee ready for Yuna to emerge. Surprised to be met by her perky cousin, she was actually grateful to see her. Her mind could use something to help distract her from her thoughts.

"Hey Yunie, why are you up so early? It's not like you grumps," Rikku asked giggling at her little nickname for her cousin. Yuna smiled at the comment, she had missed Rikku over the summer. Since she has got back she had barely anytime free to spend with her.

"Very funny Rik, I know I'm not a morning person. I have to sort some things out in work before school about this new client. Sorry but I won't be able to give you a life to school today." Yuna explained, grabbing a loose piece of fruit when she realised the time. "I have to go now, but are you free second period? As we need to sort out tonight," she asked while locating her car keys.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you missed the discussion about that. I'm free then so I'll meet you in the common room and fill you in." Rikku agreed, "I'll see you later," she continued to call after her departing cousin.

Arriving at the small, independent therapy centre, Yuna could see the doors were just opening up. Locking her car she rushed inside to escape the winds that rolled off the near coast of land. The reception was unusually busy for the time of morning. Yuna approached the reception desk, hoping she could get all the information as soon as possible. She knew this was a privilege. She still could not figure out who could have requested her for treatment. If she could prove herself with this client she would seriously consider furthering a career in therapy.

"Hello, Calli has left a file and form for me to sign Belgemine; do you have it for me?" Yuna asked. Rifling through various paperwork on her untidy desk Belgemine finally came across what she was looking for.

"Here it is Yuna. This is the background file and I just need you to sign here and here," she explained pointing to the spots needing Yuna's signature. Quickly reading through the form, Yuna saw nothing out of the ordinary and proceeded to sign the form. Taking the file, she said her goodbyes and headed back to her car. Needing to get a jump start on this mysterious client Yuna headed to school where she could work for the hour before school.

Grateful the senior common room was empty; Yuna took a seat at one of the many tables. Placing the file down in front of her she decided to first discover what she had got herself into by looking at the treatment needed for the client. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth when reading the file. Pleased that the treatment needed was muscle based, she felt excited to start work, knowing that muscle based treatments were her specialty. Now knowing vaguely what she was in for; the curiosity of who the client was once again took over. Turning to the right page, she saw no name, only an address she loosely knew and a phone number. Deciding to ring the client to confirm times to start she proceeded to dial the number into her phone.

She was not ready for the surprise that hit her like a ton of bricks. She already had this person's number in her phone.

END 4431


End file.
